reverie

What do you mean by "becoming healthier?"

You are not the problem here, most definitely not, so please don't think that. Your doctor's care seems to be subpar and what some of us don't stop to think is that well..maybe the band won't work for you, and again, it's not your fault.

Is there a Bariatric Center of Excellence near you, or something similar? I'm sorry but no amount of warm liquids or "returning to basics" is going to fix your problem. Is there some other doctor you could go to for a third opinion? When I come across stories like this I don't think people understand the severity of your problem. All of the vomiting you're doing is ruining your esophagus, seriously, and it's nothing to take lightly because you could end up with plenty of future problems.

If I were you I'd go to another doctor and request an EGD. Read this page and maybe you'll see some similarities which may explain what's going wrong. http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-center/esophageal-spasm.aspx

Are you counting calories? "Good" food choices don't mean a thing if your calories are in check. Almonds are "good," right? They're also high in calories and given enough of them you can easily be eating too many calories.

If you aren't calorie counting, start. If you're not weighing your food, start. Fills don't = weight loss, a calorie deficit does however.

Agreed. I plateaued and I exercise 6 days a week, yet I was only eating 1200 calories. I realized my deficit was away to big. I've been slowly upping my calories, 1400, 1500, now at 1600. Guess what it worked. Losing better than ever. Give it a shot, I was scared to do it.

Just came to check up on this, glad it worked Jess!!!

Reverie

Your meal plan you described above sounds the most sensible of anything I have read on here. Congratulations on your success!! Can you comment on how much you exercised and what you did?? Prior to P90X....I'm not quite ready for that! Thanks....

Haha, thanks klzahn! Hopefully it can be of some help to you. In the beginning I started off just walking. I'd add in small runs while walking, probably for less than 2-3 minutes at a time because I was still that big and out of shape. Before P90X I did Slim In 6, P90, and P90M. I did a little bit of Insanity but didn't like it too much. Nowadays I do P90X and run 2-3 miles a day. Definitely start out slow but work your way up. I'd never have imagined I'd go from barely being able to run to running nonstop for miles; amazing to me.

See I cant eat that much even if i wanted to. I get this horrible presurre at the very back of my throat at the 2 or 3 spoonfull of fish, meat or chicken. So I stop eating. At first I was keeping a log of everything i put in my mouth and i was still not losing weight so when i went to the dr for my fill he told me im stressing out too much and to stop with the log. Well i was less stressed out because i wasnt using the journal but still no weight loss. I will start the journal again, however I really dont have a clue as to what amt of anything i should be eating. How many calories a day do you think i should start with and Protein per day? I was thinking of consuming more Protein shakes and getting some Protein Bars, any you recommend?

Oh. Maybe you're too tight? I don't know. I don't know much about fills because I've never had one..so I can't be of much help there, sorry! Odd, every surgeon I've seen has always urged people to log. As for calories I have no idea, it varies from person to person. For instance I lost on 800 calories, 1200 calories, then had a long long long stall until I finally hit 1800 calories, and then the scale started to move again.

As for protein, I'd go no lower than 80g a day. Invest in a food scale as I mentioned. They're ~$20, not too expensive. For protein bars I stick to Pure Protein and Quest bars, not a fan of shakes, too nasty for my liking and liquids don't fill me up one bit. Go to a local GNC or Vitamin Shoppe and see what they have; buy some single protein bars and find one you like.

This is my daily diet, B-coffee with sugar free hazelnut creamer and I throw in a scoop of my whey Protein shake which has 26g of Protein and 140 calories, L-either a small amt of tuna with relish or a small piece of tilapia fish, S-smoked almonds at work because im starving because i cant get much food down when im actually trying to eat, D-small piece of grilled chicken if I could get it down. I drink lots of Water at work, I work out at least 3-4 times a week. As you can see I dont know what to cut out or what im doing wrong. The worse I might do from time to time is have some wine with my husband but that cannot possibly be slowing my weight loss that much. Should I maybe drink some more protein shakes? Im losing 1 to 2 lbs A MONTH! How is that possible?? Im totally lost and confused , please please give me some examples of what you eat throughout the day.

If that's all you eat I'm going to say you're not eating enough, at all. Do you weigh the food you eat? If not look into buying a food scale, mine has been god sent as I'm not good at eyeballing things, my eyes will always be bigger than my stomach.

In any case I don't think you're eating enough. Do you log your food? Again, if you don't, try it, but from what you typed I'm sure you're barely eating 1000 calories. If you're exercising you're going to want to eat more. If you want to do that in the form of a Protein Shake, go for it, though you'd probably appreciate whole foods better. When I was really "on the wagon" so to speak I generally ate this:

Breakfast: 2 eggs or 2 servings of egg beaters with low fat cheese and turkey bacon/sausage

Snack: Protein Bar, some sort of fruit, or cottage cheese

Lunch: Usually 4oz of protein + veggies (I used to do chicken + Beans + cheese + salsa + sour cream)

Snack: Similar to my first snack

Dinner: Similar to lunch

I have always kept my protein high (never gone below 110g protein a day) and in the beginning I did keep my carbs low but have since stopped doing anything low-carb. Maybe it's something you can look into but in the end its calories in vs. calories out.

Let me know if you need more help! Good luck

Because she hasn't been exercising a day or a week. She's been doing it for months. Strength training will indeed build muscle mass over time. If you knew as much about the way the human body works as you think you do, I doubt that you would have reached the point of needing WLS at such a young age.

Lol @ attempting to insult me for having WLS at such a young age. I admit to myself that I didn't need it and regret it fully. I wanted the easy way out and took it I'd lose my band tomorrow if I could.

In any case, the OP has NOT gained ANY type of muscle mass. Despite my age and your silly insult, the MALE body, in an IDEAL state, meaning Protein synthesis without the use of any type of steroids, can build roughly .2lbs of muscle a MONTH. So please tell me how the OP has packed on so much muscle, in a few months time period, as a female?

Don't let my age fool you nor my foolish decision to be banded fool you either. You can't throw out the oh you're building muscle mass, hence the scale increase, when it's not the case, nor is it rarely the case in these situations. You don't build muscle mass with pretty pink dumbbells.

Well, obviously its not weight vs weight!!!!! A pound is a pound is a pound! A pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of concrete. The question is how much space that pound takes up. No one said that muscle mass was built over night or in a week.

Then why suggest the scale isn't moving because she's gaining muscle? Lord.

absolutely! i've been reading online and most of what I've read says not to go over a 1000 calorie deficit> and it seems to say, like 500 under your bmr and 500 in exercise. So I'm going to try this. I need to do something and I've probably killed my metabolism from having this kind of deficit for so long. Also you said you limit any foods you eat. I haven't either, if I want a chip, I will have them, problem is I find it had to stop. WHich is why I don't buy them, but if they are at work, I'll eat them. I'm really hoping that this works. Maybe I'll try some nuts since they are healthy for you, I need to find them in individual servings though, since I know I would not be able to control myself with a whole bag. I'll go to costco or something.

Ahh I'm just like you! Look for the Blue Diamond 100 calorie packs. I live by them!

When I upped my calories I did it slowly -- 100 calories a week. Definitely keep me posted!

Reverie, muscle density is 1.06 g/ml. Fat is .9 g/ml. Which means muscle is about 18 percent denser, and thus heavier, than fat.

Volume =/= weight. Muscle takes up less space which means one will look leaner. So yes, from a volume standard you are correct, from a pure weight vs. weight, you're not.

In any case the OP is not building muscle, so when someone sees the scale up using the "it's muscle" answer valid at all

Not to come off as rude but this is a big pet-peeve of mine. People don't pack on muscle overnight nor in a week's worth of exercise..which is more than likely cardio.

No I mean your total burn from 12:00AM-12:00PM. For example, when I used my BMF, I burned anywhere between 2300-2400 calories a day. That is with a workout and my normal daily activities. So each day I'd eat 1700-1800 calories. So yes, 500 calorie deficit a day, about a pound loss a week. If you want to do a bigger calorie deficit, go for it, but I can tell you from experience it's not wise or advisable. My metabolism/thyroid are ruined at the moment due to such large deficits. But, you make that call yourself.

As for healthy things to eat, hm..that's your call. I've lost the mindset of healthy vs. nonhealthy foods; I like to think no food is "taboo" and I've truly learned a calorie is a calorie from the general standpoint, but I don't like to argue that with anyone (lol!)

I like eating almonds, carrots, Protein Bars, greek yogurt with granola or Cereal, fruit (peaches recently!), etc. Just be sure you're getting enough protein/fat throughout the day with whatever you do choose to eat.

Don't lose track of your hopes yet The scale may not register 170 but you could be losing inches, which is much better than a decrease on the scale. And while 1.5lbs may not seem a lot, it's 1.5lbs closer to your goal. Keep that in mind.

Let me know if you need anymore help!

Save your money.

Shoot for no more than a 500 calorie deficit per day. Anymore isn't healthy nor recommended, IMO. If you do a big deficit (ie. 750-1000 per day) you'll need to incorporate days where you eat at your maintenance calories (the calories you burn in a day) otherwise your metabolism is going to take a big hit.

Time and patience, usually. I'll continue saying this...maybe one day it'll stick: weight-loss is not linear nor constant. You'll lose some weeks, some weeks you won't, some weeks you'll see a gain on the scale. In the end you could be eating too little or too much, it's hard to say without you giving a calorie range and what type of exercise you're doing. Or maybe your body is just at a recomping phase, again, hard to say without the right information.

Give it some time, maybe switch things up in the exercise regimen and see what it does for you. Remember a decrease on the scale only means a loss of mass, not fat. Have your clothing sizes changed? If so focus more on that.

PS. Muscle does not weigh more than fat nor are you building much muscle from regular exercise. Muscle mass only comes from eating above your calorie limit and lifting heavy.

Why did she suggest watching your carbs? Are you not losing weight and therefore she's saying the carbs are causing that? I mean if you're overindulging in carb-rich foods, sure, cut down on them so that you're taking in less calories...but if you're within your calorie limit I don't see the point. I did low carb for 7-8 months and destroyed my metabolism/thyroid. Never again! I enjoy my 200g+ carbs a day.

I guess if you're stuck on going low carb, look into South Beach and/or Atkins but there's no real answer to your question. Get your Protein in, your fats in, and whatever calories you have left you can fill them in with more Protein, fats, or carbs..

Personally I don't believe in HCG. I don't want to add extra hormones into my body. Also VLC diets screw up your metabolism.

And I lost as fast as many RnY'ers with just the band and following the band guidelines.

This Why get banded if you can just starve yourself on 500 calories!

Walk more. Use a heating pad.

What's your height? And how much exercise/moving do you do throughout the day?

Uh..there's no such thing as a Protein pill. Protein comes from food..maybe try Protein Shots. Dunno. Why wouldn't you just eat lean meats, eggs, cheese, yogurt, etc?

You're definitely not alone.... I feel like it's been just about 2 weeks that I've stared at 230 point "something" on the scale... Just in the last 2 days I made sure to write down every single thing I was eating, focusing on Protein g and amount of Water... At my next appt I want to bring it so maybe the dr can let me know if there's anything I need to change. May be a helpful idea for you as well!

Also- I count my g of Protein, not calories.... Which is best to focus on???

Your calories..you need to track fats, carbs, and protein.

Restriction varies from person to person, IMO.

Weightloss isn't consistent nor linear. You won't lose weight on the scale every week, doesn't work that way. Maybe focus more on NSVs and measurements. Two weeks without a decrease on the scale is hardly a stall/plateau.

Good luck!

Because you're probably overexercising and under-eating; the two don't mesh and if they do they don't mesh for very long.

Take it as a lesson learned.